Olive Oil and Pistachio Granola
I have such a love/hate relationship with granola. I love it because whether you are hiding in the pantry eating it by the handful (which I would NEVER do) or throwing it over yogurt, it’s just so good! My love for it is also the root of my hate for it because I JUST. CAN’T. STOP. That said, this stuff doesn’t last long around here so I have to limit how often I make it. I’m pretty sure I have a couple granola recipes here on my blog already and I really don’t need to add another one but this is my latest obsession. I made POUNDS of this stuff for holiday gifts and it’s pretty much a breakfast staple around here when I DO allow myself to make it.
The original recipe for this granola was from the New York Times Cooking section. It looked great when I read through it but two things stood out to me that needed to be changed. First, the fact that there was maple syrup AND sugar in this recipe. I’ll consider myself a granola expert because I make this stuff all the time and I know that NO granola recipe needs both. So I ditched the sugar. Second, the recipe called for dried apricots to be thrown in once removed from the oven to cool. You can certainly add this in by all means but I just don’t dig dried fruit in my granola. There is plenty of room to play around with this recipe. I’m thinking maybe some flaxseed meal or chia seeds would be a great addition without altering flavor.
Olive Oil and Pistachio Granola
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned, gluten-free rolled oats
1 ½ cups raw pistachios, hulled
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, hulled
1 cup coconut chips
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden brown and well toasted.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Can’t get much easier than that! Now try not to eat it all in one sitting.
Enjoy!
